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Tongpang Ozukum, NSF officials and HSLC toppers along with their parents and family members during the felicitation programme in Kohima.[/caption]
Our Correspondent
Kohima, June 21 (EMN): The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) today honoured Naga students who topped the High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) examination 2018 at a function held in hotel Japfü Kohima.
Among 37 students who secured the top 20 positions in the HSLC this year, 18 are Naga.
Minister for Public Works Department, Tongpang Ozukum who graced the federation’s annual calendar event as the guest speaker, while lauding the toppers, exhorted them to mark their present success as a stepping stone to achieve greater feats in their future.
“Success is not a destination but a continuous journey,” the young legislator stated and encouraged the students not to be complacent with what they have just achieved as such an attitude could be the downfall of their academic careers. He advised them to give their best in whatever they choose to do, with the aim to master the field of their choice.
Pointing out that the state has registered over 70,000 educated yet unemployed youth during the previous year, Ozukum voiced concern that the number will grow but not every one of them will get jobs. He challenged the students to be able to distinguish between being educated and being a learned person. Set benchmarks for their future without allowing a place for mediocrity and be intellectual leavens in your institutions and the society that surrounds you, he told them.
Ozukum, who is a former president of the NSF, expressed appreciation to the federation for consistently organising the felicitation programme year after year and encouraging the students. He said the event was not just a mere felicitation program but the highest honour the NSF confers to the students in recognition of their hard work and achievement.
NSF president, Kesosul Christopher Ltu, in his brief address congratulated the toppers and remarked that their achievement in the HSLC was a starting point of their future. He also expressed concern on the surge in the number of educated unemployed youth in the state.
“There is a serious threat to our future because with the declaration of every graduation and post graduation results, instead of progressing, we are accumulating more and more educated unemployed youth. Our mindset needs to be changed,” Ltu said.
The student leader called upon the students to work hard and study hard, so that they can be a source of employment and revenue for the Nagas. He encouraged them to become employers and not confine themselves as employees.
During the programme, top 8 position holder, Neingusanuo Kire from Northfield school Kohima delivered a brief speech on behalf of the toppers. She attributed the success to guidance from teachers, support from church and parents. Earlier, pastor of Lotha AG church Kohima, Khonbemo Ngullie offered prayers for the toppers and the programme.
